Abstract

This thesis examines soapstone carving among Inuit in Lake Harbour, NWT, as a socially adapted form of employment. A time allocation diary, participant observation and informal interviews were implemented. The empirical evidence reveals two important aspects of soapstone carving. First, carving acts as an important source of income for the mostly part-time carvers and their families in Lake Harbour. As such, carving functions as part of a household economic strategy that serves to capitalize the harvest of country food. Second, it notes that Inuit often produce carvings collectively, usually with the help of family members. Also, the returns from the carvings are shared not only among those who participate in the production of the sculpture, but among members of the extended family as a whole, following the patterns of kinship-based food-sharing. Thus, not only is carving an important supplement to other forms of income, it is an integral part of the existing social forms of Inuit society, most notably generalized reciprocity.